lkjkljklj wrote:
Les wrote:If you are accepting money (i.e. a paid trip) from an event you would not normally cover, you are basically being a paid flack -- a pr person. The Olympics are different because anyone in the sports journalism business (not just publications who cover track) would be covering that event. The Olympics are a bona fide news event, so it's ok to accept press passes, etc because you would be covering it regardless. It's a two-way street. The media and the event benefit. In the case of Camel City flying in Letsrun, only Camel City benefits. Obviously, if you wouldn't cover it without the free trip it's not a bona fide news event.
Or they only have enough cash to cover some number N of bona fide news events out of all of the bona fide news events that exist.
If you receive a swag bag, meal, bed, car, airfare, or money from a Chinese-made-shoe company, university, meet director, sports federation, national government, pro running club, gym club, or your local Circle K, then your objectivity is sullied, and you will not report objectively. Why? Because Psychologists say we all learn as children to behave ourselves to earn candy and toys from our parents, and you can never get around that in your teens and adult years. It just never happens.